Struthers, Ohio — Youngstown State's bowling team tied a school record for wins at a tournament and wrapped up a third-place finish at the 2024 Penguin Classic on Sunday. The three-day event was held at Holiday Bowl in Struthers, which is YSU's home facility.
The Penguins went 2-1 in their best-of-seven Baker matches on Sunday and finished the tournament with a 12-1 record. Youngstown State was third in the bracket entering the day, and that's where it finished among the field of 16 teams.
Nebraska won the tournament championship, and Wichita State was the runner-up.
The 12 wins at a tournament ties the program record previously set at Adelphi's Dezy Strong Classic in October 2022. Youngstown State head coach Doug Kuberski also earned his 400th win as a Penguin on Friday.
"The ladies did an outstanding job focusing on our process and staying together from the opening shot on Friday through the last match today," Kuberski said. "I love how we battled across a number of different types of matches this weekend, whether playing from behind or ahead, or on the higher scoring pairs or more challenging pairs."
"Wichita State bowled a great match, and we tipped our cap and put that loss behind us and refocused on our work. I'm very proud of how we bounced back and competed. We sure felt the love and support from our friends and family. Overall, we checked a lot of boxes and gathered some great information to use as we prepare for Orlando."
YSU qualified third after averaging 207.2 over the first two days of the tournament, and it averaged 202.8 on Sunday.
The Penguins, who were ranked third in the preseason National Tenpin Coaches Association Top 25 poll, defeated No. 10 Duquesne to start the morning and keep their hopes of winning the tournament title alive. The Penguins took the opener 246-179 behind a six-strike string, and anchor Jade Cote converted a spare in the 10th to give YSU a 209-202 win and a 2-0 lead. Duquesne took the third game 207-187, and YSU fought through a low-scoring game for a 168-166 win in game four. The Penguins were then clean in game five to win 207-168.
Youngstown State remained hot against No. 17 Wichita State to win the opener 225-177. YSU left splits in the eighth and ninth frames when game two was in the balance, and that's when the match flipped in the Shockers' favor. Wichita State won game two 215-177, and it rode the wave of momentum to win the next two 259-153 and 221-198 to go up 3-1 in the match. The Penguins made a push at the end of game four, and they were clean over the final nine frames of game five to win 214-187. Wichita State struck on its final four attempts in game six to win 232-178 to close out the match.
Wichita State advanced to the championship round for a rematch against Nebraska, and YSU went on to beat No. 2 Arkansas State 4-1 for third place. The Penguins had eight strikes, including the back five, in a 223-161 win in game one, and YSU opened with six straight marks in a 189-176 win in game two. The Penguins were back over 200 in game three as five strikes in a six-frame stretch led to a 226-212 victory, and Arkansas State needed three strikes in the 10th to extend the match with a 194-191 win in game four. An early four-bagger and a double in the eighth and ninth carried YSU to a 223-179 win in game five.
Youngstown State will return to the lanes next week at the Destination Orlando event. The three-day tournament will be held at AMF Sky Lanes Oct. 18-20.
